How many of you have your likeness immortalized in a plaster bust?  How many have transformed your head into the ridges of a Warrior, or any number of alien disguise?  If you haven't been working with the materials of plaster, clay, and latex, what have you been doing with your time?  Well I'm here to tell you about a basic way to make custom headpieces and masks, designed for that tailored fit on your own head.

When KAG got started, most of Klingon fandom were still dressing in the 'Classic' v. Contemporary uniform, as seen in the original series.  Yet in a few short years, as NexGen and more movies switched over, the greater challenge was widely embraced to suit up as a full Imperial RidgeHead.  Now the ridges have the greatest recognition factor:  they say 'Trek' better than any other costume.  And I likes my Klingons like my peanut butter: Krunchy, not Kreamy.

You can get yourself in ridges without the work I'm about to describe... 'Off-the-rack' headpieces come from a number of stores and shops, in boxes or plastic baggies.  They range from the Paramount brand plastic headpiece to the softer, more professional foreheads made from processes like cold foam.  The easy-to-slip-on half-head is my favorite, since I prefer the Minute Man quickness of dress-and-run to the hours of effort to use adhesive and blending.  But both styles of head (half-head or prosthetic-apart-from-wig) can be professionally attached and smoothed if you want to complete the illusion.

If you're not allergic to plaster, Vaseline, or latex, this project can change your life!  (At least on the outside.)  On to the basics.

THE PLASTER BUST
The first step is to get plastered, and it helps to have Vaseline on hand.  (I hope that sounds as funny to you as it does to me.)  This is the "baptism by fire" for many of us to truly prove your unshaken resolve to be the full warrior you can be... Passing this test involves encasing your head in plaster for the 20 minutes to half an hour that it takes to dry.  Your helpful friends may take advantage of this time by further hazing you, trying to make you laugh under the bandages when you need to be keeping still.

I recommend using a real latex bald cap, but a plastic grocery bag can sometimes make do. And about four rolls of plaster-wrap bandages, the kind used in broken leg casts.  The game plan for most of us is to lube up, then cover the entire head, except the nostrils, in two layers of bandages, and then snip it off from back-of-neck to top-of-head after it has dried.  You can then gently pull the 'eggshell' forward over the face, and reseal the back slit with one or two more plaster strips.

WARNING: People can get real claustrophobic encased in plaster.  Others may require mouth breathing if their nasal passages aren't open enough.  Consider several remedies or alternatives.  If you can fix the problem with soda straws and a mouth opening, you may still be able to do a full head cast.  If it's not solved that easily, you can usually settle for a partial cast over the forehead and eyes.  Wet bandages can be cut and folded creatively to hit just the right boundaries your victim/subject is willing to withstand.

Start with the Vaseline, and cover the eyebrows and any other facial hair.  Lightly cover the skin too: the Vaseline is your 'release compound' to keep the plaster from pulling when removed.  WARNING: You guys with beards have it the hardest.  Coat those whiskers, or they may come off inside the plaster!

With your strips pre-cut to an assortment of lengths, from four to eight inches in length, you're ready to begin plastering.  Fill a large bowl with warm/comfortable water.  Have some spare towels on hand and place one over the shoulders of the victim/subject.  The water can get to feel quite cold. (Unpleasant, but evaporation is a cooling process.)  Yet as the plaster finally dries, it tends to warm.  Work from the top down to the neck, leaving the nostrils uncovered.  A courteous friend would give the subject warning before the mouth  is covered, and an opportunity to say any last words for a while.  After that they'd better know sign language, or how to use pen and paper while blind.

Caress the moist bandages into the face lines... they'll keep better detail if the plaster has been smoothed into place.  After they've had 20 to 30 minutes to dry, it's time to slowly snip the shell off.   You need to carefully bring the scissors, a little snip at a time, up between the bald cap and plaster, and *not* under the bald cap where you'd be cutting hair.  Most all of us make small sacrifices of hair in this moment, but locally we were lucky to find and angled pair of scissors with a plastic protector on on tip that is perfect for making this removal easy.  When you've reached the top center of the head, the 'eggshell'  will flex (still moist) apart at the back, lightly over both ears, forward over the face.  Now you have a good shell, except for your scissor cut up the back.  Patch that with a couple strips, and let it dry another hour.  Patch the nose holes too.  You should now have a sealed bowl ready to fill.

About this time, your victim/subject will be free, and try to escape in order to wash out the Vaseline and flakes of plaster.  Let them go.  You don't need them any more... you've captured their soul in plaster.

THE BUST ITSELF
Back to the Vaseline, you need to prepare the 'eggshell' to be filled with solid plaster.  By coating every square inch, you'll keep one plaster from sticking to another. The Pros will use 'UltraCal' or some high grade stuff to preserve detail.  Personally, we're cheap, and we get adequate detail by first pouring in some standard construction grade plaster, mixed two parts powder for each part water.  Give attention-to-detail with that Vaseline: Dry spots will pull on the bust, but globs will leave divots and streaks.  We don't worry too greatly... all that Vaseline will have to be toweled off the final bust, and the remaining holes and bulges can be filled, filed and sanded.

Try to top the poured latex off level with how you want it to stand.   Let the bust dry for 24 hours.

You snip off the 'eggshell' from the bust just as you would from the original victim/subject.  If done carefully enough, you might even be able to reepeat this section another couple times for a couple more busts.  Thoroughly towel off the Vaseline from the bust, and you're ready to start clay-sculpting your Klingon... or Narn, Drazi, Talaxian, Ferengi, whatever.  The greater your aspirations, the more busts you may keep busy!

Word is that on Qo'noS, they prefer plaster casting to taking photographs.  We have quite a collection of our friends' heads, lined up in our workshop.  It's also much more fun to lure your friends over for a party, telling them, "There's lots of Vaseline here, so let's all get plastered!"

Coming soon:
part 2: Molding your creations, Positive v. Negative
part 3: Work and Care with Latex

 - KwISt

Did you know...? MINDSCANNER is now being produced on open source software, from its Linux operating system to it OpenOffice.org Writer. It is also composed entirely on antiquated hardware from the previous millennium.